Count Every Vote
Voting is a right hard won in a series of struggles, spanning nearly two
centuries, as suffrage was extended from white male property owners only to
eventually include all citizens eighteen or older. While our present ballot
options may seem worthless the right to vote is precious and must be
defended for all.

Of course vote fraud has been around as long as voting. It
used to be common for political machines to stuff ballot boxes and physically
intimidate those expected to vote the wrong way. Many credit Kennedyís razor
thin margin over Nixon in 1960 to just such shenanigans in Chicago and Kansas
City.

Such blatant corruption is rare today. But no one has
forgotten the crisis that delayed the certification of the outcome of the last
presidential election. Ultimately the second-place finisher in the national
popular vote took occupancy of the White House. While Al Gore eventually dropped
his challenges a lot of people remain convinced that election was stolen.

The powers that be donít like such scandals. Being a tiny
minority, it is important to them that those of us in the great working
class majority accept elections as fair and binding. But the "ins" and the
"outs" competing to serve our masters are so closely matched itís hard for them
to resist the temptation to stick a thumb in the eye here and there.

Efforts were mandated to improve the technology of voting,
to avoid embarrassing squabbles over things like hanging chads. But new
electronic touch screens seem to have raised even more suspicion and anxiety.

Vote manipulation persists on a more sophisticated level
than ever. Particularly dangerous is the targeting of Black and Chicano voters
for harassment by Bush supporters. Both major parties will have thousands of
lawyers in the field to deal with challenged votes. If the vote is as close as
polls currently indicate there are sure to be unpleasant confrontations once
more. For more information about the danger Tuesday click
here.

Fraud and intimidation are illegal. But there are other
quite legal aspects of American voting that are highly undemocratic. The
electoral college in presidential selection is an anachronism that can skew
peopleís votesĖas we saw in 2000. Plurality-takes-all, which prevails in all but
a couple of states, compounds the problems of the electoral college and also
awards unearned lop-sided domination by one party in congress. And it is
extremely difficult for candidates outside the two establishment parties to even
get on the ballot. Ralph Naderís supporters in fifteen states will be denied
their right to vote. Of course, in addition to those institutionalized limits on
our democratic rights there are the questions of campaign financing, and control
of the mass media, that play a giant role in keeping unwelcome challengers out
of the contest.

But we wonít make any progress in improving the process if
we let slip what we have already won. Count
every vote!

Some Iraqis Who Were Better Off With
Saddam Hussein
There was a major news story about the Iraq war this week that neither
presidential candidate would touch with a ten-foot pole. The medical journal
Lancet published a study by the Bloomberg School of Public Health, at Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore, that concluded the U.S.-led invasion and
occupation of Iraq has been responsible for 100,000 Iraqi civilian deaths.
The majority of those fatalities were women and children.

Wage Share Down; Profits, Benefit
Costs Up
The
Center On Budget and Policy Priorities showed some disturbing, if
not surprising trends in the latest quarterly figures on Americaís Gross
Domestic Product. Using the first quarter of 2001 as a benchmark, the wage share
of the economy declined 4.1 percentĖthe biggest drop over a 14 quarter period
since such statistics have been compiled--while the profit share rose 2.3
percent. The cost of insurance and pensions also climbed 1.2 percent.

Still Looking For the Last Drop
It seems that getting an even bigger slice of the pie we bake for them has only
whetted the bosses appetite for more. The bankers think they have found a way to
squeeze another drop or two out of our life blood with Check 21. This new
banking law has the effect of instantly scarfing up checks through electronic
postings while keeping the old rules delaying crediting of deposits. For many of
Americaís poorest workers living paycheck to paycheck this will inevitably mean
more bounced checks--and fees for the banks.

Repetitive Commotion Syndrome?
I try to pay attention to constructive criticism. One complaint Iíve heard is
repetition of a number of basic arguments. For example, Iíve spent a lot of time
over the past several months counterposing the need for independent working
class politics to the Anybody But Bush frenzy that consumes so many good people.

I could, and do say that there is no more important
question for American workers. Still, recycling the same points differently
worded doesnít necessarily enhance the answers to this question.

Part of the problem is this: while some of you have been
following this site for more than four years there are always new people coming
around. Just in the last week ten new folks signed up for the KC Labor mailing
list and one dropped off. Itís a challenge to introduce new readers to the basic
ideas this site promotes without boring the old-timers who have heard a lot of
this before.

At least we will catch a break from ABB after Tuesdayís
election. And, I will continue to try to regularly mix in some fresh tunes along
with the golden oldies.